Tue. Nov 15, 2016 News from Israel

Government crisis regarding Amona settlement

Israel appoints first ambassador to Turkey since Marmara incident

Ceasefire broken in Syria

Two days after the Israeli Supreme Court rejected the request by the government to extend the date for evicting residents of the illegal outpost Amona in December, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated that the IDF should not be dragged into a political argument. He also condemned violence against IDF soldiers. “The soldiers are only implementing the law. The government is responsible for this action. You can complain to the Defense Minister, to the government, to the Prime Minister, but there must be no confrontation with IDF soldiers.”

Amidst the recent discussion regarding the public broadcasting stations, Finance Minister Moshe Kachlon stated that the public TV station will continue broadcasting, although the law demands that it close. “It is an issue of budget and I cannot intervene in this matter unless they go over budget, he said.”

When the Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev visited Israel recently, he was so impressed by a drone at the Volcani Institute, that Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel gave him the control and then promised to give him one as a present, a value of 200,000 shekels. The Defense Ministry, however, had directed that any transfer of unmanned vehicles to foreign countries requires an export license. Since components of the drone were manufactured by the US and Spain, it is feared that Israel's relations with these countries could be harmed by the action.

For the first time since the state was established, the birth rate among Jews and Arabs is equal according to the latest Bureau of Statistics reports. According to the report, in the last year, both Jewish and Arab women gave birth to an average of 3.13 children. Currently, there are 2,800,000 children – one third of the population.

The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that Eitan Na’eh will be the Israeli ambassador in Ankara, a position that has not been filled since 2011 when the Turkish President expelled the Israeli ambassador from his country.

The ceasefire in Syria has been broken on Tuesday with heaving bombing by President Bashar Assad’s troops, as reported by Syrian insurgents on the city of Aleppo. The rebels stated that the bombing signals a series of new attacks on rebels by government forces. The Russian Defense Minister announced in the afternoon that the Russian Air Force was launching strikes in Syria.

The Education Ministry announced that during recent exams, Israeli students achieved higher grades in English, Math and Arabic. Although the grades in general rose, the gap between Jewish students and Arab students remained great.